tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Dec 18 18:02:08 1996
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RE: "Excalibur" vImugh
- From: "HurghwI'" <[email protected]>
- Subject: RE: "Excalibur" vImugh
- Date: Wed, 18 Dec 1996 20:04:59 -0600
jatlh SuStel:
>> DochvetlhvaD maw' parmaq ponglu'bogh 'oHvaD, nuv mIpbe' voDleH je charghbogh
>> mISvetlh maw' . . . Qo'! not!
>>
>> ". . . all for this lunacy called love, this mad distemper that strikes down
>> both beggar and king . . . never again! Never!"
>> -Merlin, "Excalibur"
>> This seemed appropriate deeming the recent discussion over love.
>
>Ack! This does NOT belong under KLBC! It's difficult!
qay'be'. potlh 'oH jabbI'IDvam Daq'e' 'e' vItlhojqu'pu'be'.
>You're close in your translation. There are a few problems. The main one is
>that the English is not a complete sentence, and this causes the Klingon to
>suffer. You have translated the "for" directly into {-vaD}, but a better
>suffix would be {-mo'}.
>
>Also, you must say {Dochvetlh maw'mo'}, not *{Dochvetlhmo' maw'}.
>
>What's the subject of {ponglu'bogh}? If you've got {-lu'} you can't have one,
>but you seem to want one with the {'oH} after it.
Because I used {-vaD}, I had to have something to stick it on. I couldn't
put it on the {Doch} because it already had one. Thus, I added {'oH} as a
verb, and stuck it on that, making the phrase:
"For it, this crazy thing called love"
>Here's a quick edit of your sentence. I encourage others to come up with
>better ones.
>
>Dochvam maw'vaD parmaq ponglu' 'ej parmaqmo' wo' Qaw'rup. nuv mIpbe' voDleH
>je charghbogh mIS maw' 'oH . . . Qo'! not!
>
>This crazy thing is called par'mach, and because of par'mach, he is prepared
>to destroy an empire. It is a crazy confusion which conquers poor people and
>emperors alike . . . No way! Never!
Ahh, I should have provided context. In this scene, Merlin is sitting with
Arthur, and they are watching Gwenevere dance. Arthur remarks that he loves
her, and asks Merlin if he can make her love him. Merlin refuses, saying
that once he used his magic so that a man could lie with a woman, and it
took him (Merlin) 20 moons or something to recover, all for this crazy thing
called love . . .
He's not talking about Arthur, so unfortunately your translation is based on
the wrong idea. I still like it, though, because at least it makes a
complete sentence.
>> HIqlIj DanuDDI', qaSpu'be'bogh wanI'mey DanuD. 'oH Datlhutlhta'be'chugh, nuq
>> DaSovbej? 'ej vaj SoH paSqu'ba' . . . . paSqu'.
>>
>> "Looking at the cake's like looking at the future; until you've tasted it,
>> what do you really know? And then, of course, it's too late . . . . too
>late."
>> -Merlin, "Excalibur"
>> In light of the fact that a suspicious Klingon would likely inspect his
>> drink for poison (and there's no word for cake), I've changed the subject to
>> liquor.
>
>Good idea, but only a coward would use such a method!
Right. In a way this is like a Klingon proverb not to be overly suspicious,
because you can never no until you trust and let your instincts decide.
>The only problem I have with the above (I like the sentence) is the last bit.
>{vaj SoH paSqu'ba'}? I don't understand that at all. The {vaj} is
>"therefore," not "next."
>
>Starting at your {'ej vaj . . .} (and removing it), I'd say
>
>{'ej Datlhutlhta'DI', Datlhutlhba' rIntaH . . .}
terra'ngan Dogh mu'tlhegh rurlaw' mu'tlheghlIj. tlhIngan vIttlhegh 'oHbe'ba'.
{{;-)}
>or
>
>{'ej Datlhutlhta'DI', qaSba'pu' . . . qaSba'pu'}.
I see what you're getting at. I like the repetitive nature this gives the
phrase. However, why remove the {-qu'}s? I saw them as essential to the
meaning. This quote is from the same scene. Gwenevere gives Arthur a little
cake that she baked for him, and won't tell him what's in it, except that
it'll make him sleepy (it is supposed to help with his war wounds). Arthur
examines it, and Merlin babbles his remark (you really have to see this
movie, Merlin is good at being crazy and wise at the same time). Then Arthur
takes a bite, and Merlin mumbles "too late," the second time. I realize this
is a bit off topic, but it is necessary for correct translation by context.
-HurghwI'
Hovjaj 96966.6